The Distance Between Us
by movedto-theycallmeruthless
Summary: He admired her from afar.  Or as Cress would argue, he stalked her from afar.


**A/N: **After rotting away in my document manager for what feels like forever (but in reality is only about a week or two), this can finally be posted :".

I don't like errors.

And for the 100 themes challenge (variation one), this is **71. Obsession.**

Also, note that I didn't come up with the story title... I used a random story title generator, and that was what popped up XD.

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><p>He admired her from afar.<p>

(Or as Cress would argue, he _stalked_ her from afar.)

Of their trio, Chili was the one who spoke loudest and was the most fearless (or, in Cress' words, _was obnoxious, rash and stupid)._ Cress was the one who just kind of stood aside and made witty comments when spoken to; Cilan would be the first to step up and talk, but the words would always come out all jumbled up. That's where Chili came in- he balanced out their group. He would get Cress involved with whatever and straighten out Cilan's words.

So how the hell did he suddenly become the _quiet _one? The one that would sit back and watched things quizzically? Watch things unfold? Be the last one to talk and the first one to leave?

Why do his words come out in that tangled mess that's usually reserved for the eldest brother? Why can't he talk straight?

Whatever the reason, he was sure that a certain gym leader was to blame. Erika, who was dubbed as the 'nature-loving princess' by some, _had _to be the reason, right?

Going back to the beginning, Chili admired (stalked) her from afar.

They had headed to Kanto for two weeks, minds set on visiting Celadon and catching an eevee to bring back home. Sometime in the middle of all that... Chili met Erika.

And he decided he liked her, right there, from the start.

He wasn't sure why- he wasn't the type that goes for girls like her, the girls who like to gossip and shop and flaunt around in dresses. In fact, those type of girls just downright annoyed him a majority of the time. Yet... he was attracted to Erika. And he couldn't explain it (or was that just a part of the affect she had on him? The part that makes his tongue practically tie itself into knots?)

Chili made notes of certain things about her as he watched- how she usually wore kimonos as opposed to short shorts or jeans. How, when she wasn't wearing a kimono, she was wearing a dress or skirt. How the dress or skirt always reached down past her knees, and how they were always, _always _beautiful. How her headband never left her hair, which was such a dark shade of black it was blue.

How she would often doze off in the gym, exhausted from her busy schedule. He could name her daily schedule almost down to the last detail- she would wake up at five, get dressed, eat a quick breakfast and be out of the house and training by seven. She would then open up her perfume shop and sell to happy customers for a couple of hours. Noon, she would eat lunch and head to the gym. After battling a couple of trainers, she would allow her pokemon to rest while she headed out to give speeches in schools or teach youngsters how to arrange flowers. Then, at five, she would train some more, even battle some more trainers. For the next few hours, and various times throughout the day, she'll toy around with her pokemon's powders, trying to make potions and different medicine. Sometimes, Erika will mismanage the powder and end up knocked out, paralyzed or even sick. When she's better, she'll be frustrated but jump right back in to her normal schedule. By eleven, she's showered and already finished with dinner. She's asleep by eleven-thirty.

But on Sundays, Erika would relax. She wouldn't train, battle trainers, teach her minors, give speeches, experiment with powder or... well, anything. She would wake up late, visit the Department Store or the fountain.

It scared Chili, how much he knew about her, in less then two weeks (_in fact, it scared Cress too_). Even worse, seeing that he had only spoken to her... three times. Once, looking for directions to their hotel; another asking her if she was a gym leader; and a third to compliment her kimono. To each turn, she had politely replied to him.

Soon, Chili realized that she wasn't _just_ the stereotype that he had in his head, of the girl who wore dresses and gossiped. Yes, Erika could be like that, but she was also kind and polite... and rather quiet.

Their personalities clashed in almost every way too- he could be loud (up until now), she could be silent. He was always on the run, she could be found asleep often. He was a _fire-type_ leader, she was a grass-type leader.

He still couldn't stop watching her.

It would be casual, how he would just follow her trail with his eyes. He wouldn't chase her or hide in the bushes while she changed (_though Cress would often tease his Chili, saying that he did_). He would simply roam around the city, and if they ran into each other... well, then he would just watch her, looking for the words he suddenly wasn't brave enough to say.

When their two weeks were up and the three brothers were due to head back home, they packed up their things and did exactly that. Chili realized then that he couldn't watch his gym leader forever and was relieved when his ability to talk very slowly returned to him. Yet, he couldn't fight off his urge to say good-bye before they left.

And he did exactly that.

He walked into the local café, non-nonchalantly ordered three teas before turning to the obsidian-haired gym leader (who was so conveniently there). He almost wimps out, but right before he heads out the door, he says to no one in particular how he's heading back home that day, back to Striaton City. And as he walks out of the café (to which, somewhere in the back of his mind, Chili notes not to be as good as theirs), he can't help but steal a glance at Erika, who's widened eyes follow him as he exits. Chili suppresses the urge to grin like a maniac when he sees that she's noticed him, at the very least.

But what he doesn't know is that she's been watching him too.

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><p><strong>AN:** OMO. So basically, Erika's hair/ eye color changes from game to anime to manga, and I think even from game to game. She's had blue, teal and black hair; brown, gray and green eyes. To avoid all the confusion, I gave her black-blue hair and brown eyes as she appears in her HgSs art.

Meanwhile... what the hell, Erika x Chili? How did I come up with _that?_

Well, if we want to go through the whole process, I was looking for a good ship for Chili. Chili x Skyla would be great... if only their hair colors weren't so similar. Chili x Elesa just.. annoyed me, for some unknown reason. Thus, I moved onto gym leaders of other regions (since I strictly ship Cilan with Iris, and Lenora's married). I basically pair all the other gym leaders with someone else... except for Candice and Erika. Since I didn't want to do Chili x Candice, I did the latter.

Er, also, I always picture Cilan as the oldest and Chili the youngest (obviously leaving Cress to be the middle brother). And, in my strange mind, Cress and Chili are always trying to out-wit each other, resulting in almost constant harmless teasing.

I've gone back to edit this a couple of times, and I haven't done much but move around commas -.-  
>So please, point out any errors? And reviews are much appreciated!<p> 


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